By Georg Kacher
Spyshots
25 April 2008 09:46
Expect to see Mercedes with even more crazed power outputs some time soon - but AMG is also preparing a new range of super saloons that juggle clout with cleanliness. CAR Online has been given exclusive insight into the tuner's plans, which include new models, engines and even hybrids.

A mere 12 months after the launch of the acclaimed high-revving big-bore V8, AMG is tweaking its engine philosophy again. Why? Because the 6.2-litre unit lacks power and torque compared to the now defunct 5.5-litre Kompressor motor.

AMG engines lack power and torque, you say? Are you mad?!

Yes, we'd rarely call any AMG product under-nourished, but these guys at Affalterbach have a different take on brutality. They point out that the latest 6.2 has horrendous full-throttle consumption and emission figures. And it's telling that Audi and BMW are also about to abandon their normally aspirated bent eights.

To eclipse the successful supercharged engine, AMG is now developing a twin-turbo 5.0-litre variant good for around 570bhp and 665lb ft of torque. AMG being AMG, there's also an even meatier 700bhp/885lb ft version of this motor to replace the 612bhp V12. The ESP systems of Germany are going to be troubled with alarming frequency...

Hybrid AMGs - fast and frugal

AMG hasn't got its head in the sand. It knows it must respond to the changing zeitgeist and so there will be a hybrid edition of the new V8, labelled BluePower. It is not quite clear yet whether the Swabians will use the Flybrid system by X-Trac (a flywheel spinning at 60,000rpm in a vacuum producing mechanical energy), or a more conventional approach featuring a 100bhp electric motor integrated in the transmission housing.

Both applications are clearly performance-oriented, offering substantial on-demand overboost as well as restricted zero-emission capability. Another innovation worth mentioning is a new electrically operated direct-drive gearbox which is much faster and more efficient than any conventional slushmatic.

Flywheels are a cool idea, but I doubt they'll be able to get it to work in a vehicle that changes directions constantly. (They work fine in trains, but trains turn much more gently.) The gyroscopic forces will tear the bearings to shreds in short order, and if they don't counteract it properly, it'll have an annoying tendency to flip the car over when you try to turn. I suppose they could have the flywheel standing straight up, with a vertical spin axis, but that presents its own problem in the form of requiring a 90-degree transfer case to "charge" and "discharge" the flywheel, which will immediately reduce the system's efficiency.

I think they're just trying to be different for the sake of being different. There's no way a reasonably-heavy flywheel spinning at a reasonable speed can store more energy than lithium-polymer batteries and/or a self-contained fuel cell (i.e. a hydrogen battery) and/or a couple of supercapacitors.

Flywheels are a cool idea, but I doubt they'll be able to get it to work in a vehicle that changes directions constantly. (They work fine in trains, but trains turn much more gently.) The gyroscopic forces will tear the bearings to shreds in short order, and if they don't counteract it properly, it'll have an annoying tendency to flip the car over when you try to turn. I suppose they could have the flywheel standing straight up, with a vertical spin axis, but that presents its own problem in the form of requiring a 90-degree transfer case to "charge" and "discharge" the flywheel, which will immediately reduce the system's efficiency.

I think they're just trying to be different for the sake of being different. There's no way a reasonably-heavy flywheel spinning at a reasonable speed can store more energy than lithium-polymer batteries and/or a self-contained fuel cell (i.e. a hydrogen battery) and/or a couple of supercapacitors.

Big heavy spinning flywheel = gyroscope. Gyroscope + off-axis force (like from turning the car) = shear force on the gyroscope's mounting points = one end of the car wants to lift and the other wants to dive.

Like I said, they could point the flywheel straight up so when the car turns, the car's rotation would be on the same axis as the flywheel's rotation, eliminating those shear forces I mentioned, but then you'd have to have a 90-degree transfer case to connect the up-down flywheel to the front-back drivetrain.

On the other hand, electric motors don't have those problems, because they don't have to spin really fast and they don't have to be really heavy.

Cliffs: I liked the Ford Tonka concept better -- it used a compressor to slow the truck down, then it released the compressed air into an air engine to speed the truck up again. It made a cool jackhammer sound too.